Giveaway: Stella & Dot necklace!

I promise to quit slacking and have a wedding post up for you all next week ...however, in the meantime, I am incredibly excited about this GIVEAWAY!!!

Odette necklace layered with the libby layering necklace

The February/March stretch is a hard, unfortunate one folks. The snow has lost it's lustre, the wind seems to have it out for you and the lack of vitamin D has really hit home. While I can't do anything to coax the world to spin faster, I am hoping to help you through the home stretch onto literally, greener pastures. 

I have partnered with my local Stella & Dot rep, the very lovely, Emily, to offer you all the chance to win your very own Odette Link Pendant [as featured above], from Stella & Dot's Spring Collection 2012! I will even model and style mine a couple times over the next two weeks, to offer you some inspiration... not that you need it - this piece is seriously beyond flexible.


HOW TO ENTER

mandatory - worth one entry
01 . Head on over to Emily's Stella & Dot store and then leave a comment below with your favourite item[s] and your email address, so I can contact you if you win!
02 . Follow me through Google Friend Connect

bonus - please leave a separate comment for each one
01 . Follow me on Twitter
02 . Like Emily's facebook page
03 . Follow me on Bloglovin
04 . Follow me on pinterest
05 . Tweet about this giveaway, tagging @sorrenisler and @emilymacneill in your tweet!

As an added bonus, throughout the duration of this giveaway, Emily will be offering free shipping* for orders over $100! 

To take advantage, contact Emily by email and she will set it up for you! 

This giveaway will run until Wednesday, March 14th at 5pm [Atlantic Standard Time] - open worldwide!

*Sorry folks, although the giveaway is open worldwide, this perk is just for the canucks, however that may change in the near future so stay tuned for other, upcoming promotions.

Winter Storm-wear

Miss Sixty coat (similar) | Firefly hat (similar) | American Apparel leggings (similar) | Hunter boots | Hunter fleece liners (similar)

In honour of what will hopefully be [fingers crossed!] our last snow storm, here's a little peek at what I've been sporting out-of-doors all winter long. When it gets as cold as it does here in Halifax, you need to create a little collection of coats that help transition you season to season. This collection of coats needs to be built of cute little numbers that help remind people that you are likely wearing something stylish underneath. Something that you put a bunch of thought into styling, that gets so unfairly buried under the layers of winter. As important as the style factor is, this collection also needs a practical option; something that will stand up against the wet snow and bone-chilling wind. 

Luckily for me, I stumbled upon this coat which does both. I was in-between meetings in January and popped into a thrift store to pass the time. Naturally, I headed straight for the coats where I saw a BRAND NEW Miss Sixty, down-filled coat. No lie. And guess what? It was 65$ - at 50% OFF! For REALS! I got this coat for 35$, taxes in! The only downside is the lack of a hood [seriously, what were those people thinking?], but I can totally suck it up for the price I paid. Plus, the lack of a hood created the perfect opportunity to accessorize with adorable hat[s] [I'm fancy and own more than one... two to be exact] and my go-to Hunters.

Music Monday

As part of the new approach I have to my blog, I will use Mondays to feature different things. Music will be one of the big ones, but I'll also touch on movies I've seen, what I got up to over the weekend - if it's worth sharing, (i.e. I will not recount my haps of being a potato and watching movies all weekend while designing blog layouts and attempting to avoid sugar hangovers), how-tos or what I likes. Basically, anything is really fair game - perhaps I should re-name to mish-mash Monday, or mash-up Monday. hmmmmm... what do all y'all think???

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Grizzly Bear: Two Weeks

I absolutely love this song. I think I may have said something to the effect of "This is the type of song that buries straight through you and encompasses your soul". Embarrassing. I know. Rarely do I allow myself to go that close to the granolas, but this song is deserving of that kind of cringe-worthy admission.

Food Friday: Vegan Marble Banana Bread

I am very excited to announce my second-ever pinterest recipe adventure was a delicious success! If you follow my pinterest, you'll know that the majority of my pins are of food and so I can't help but celebrate each time I manage to make one a reality [I want to eat. it. ALL.].

I love banana bread, always have always will. It's deliciousness is the only reason I can even stand saying the worst moist [ugh. that was hard and gross -that's what she said... I digress]. The point is, when I saw this pin and knew that I could up my game to include a chocolate - but not too chocolatey - banana bread, I nearly passed out from excitement. 

INGREDIENTS:  1 cup mashed banana 3/4 cups sugar 1 teaspoon canola oil 1/3 cup almond milk 1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 6 tablespoons boiling water, divided

Begin by boiling the water and preheating the oven to 350 F. Next, start mashing your naners in a large bowl, beating in the sugar, oil, milk and vanilla. Set aside.

Sift your flour, baking soda and salt - not because it's fun, but because you know it's worth it. Gently mix the flour into the wet ingredients.

Now, here's where things get crazy. Separate half of the batter into another bowl. In a small bowl mix the cocoa powder with 3T of the boiling water. Once this has dissolved into delicious hot cocoa water mix it into one half of the batter, creating that chocolatey goodness. Once this is mixed, add the remaining 3T of boiling water to the boring ol' plain batter and mix.

At this point, you should have two bowls of batter. Begin added them to your nicely buttered, lightly flour-dusted pan, one half cup at a time layering the chocolate with the plain. Once all your batter is in there take a knife and swirl it around the length of the pan -don't let it drag on the bottom though.

Put it in your preheated oven and voila! 55 minutes later [more if your oven is sneaky] you've got a delicious marble banana bread! ...and since it's all vegan and healthy you can pretty much devour that thing start to finish right from the oven. Enjoy!

Notes:

Just because it's vegan doesn't mean it needs to have a weird rubbery texture!

Hurray for finding healthy recipes that also taste good!!

Since it's vegan you'll need almond, soy or rice milk instead of regular. Ooo! Also, you could try coconut milk. Any would do and they're all pretty fantastic to bake with.

Sift the flour twice. This always helps with cakes and muffins and since eggs aren't included in vegan recipes, the sifted flour will definitely help lighten the batter.

Fleurs and Brogues

Lovely girl floral shirt | Club Monaco pencil skirt (similar) | American Apparel belt | Hue tights
 Chelsea Crew brogues | Longchamps bag | necklace from Biscuit General Store (similar)

There's nothing I like more than mixing and matching brown, grey and black pieces. I'm not sure when my love for this blossomed. Perhaps it was somewhere between episodes 3 and 8 of Downton Abbey, Season 2, or maybe it was while I sat patiently, waiting for East Bound and Down to finally return... in any case I'm hooked and I don't see things changing any time soon. In fact, I may just toss out everything that isn't black, grey or brown from my closet, it's in a desperate need of some cleaning and organization and, well, that just sounds horrible right about now. Case closed.

Review: HANA Titanium Flat Iron

Last month, when I was approached by Misikko to review the HANA Titanium 1.5" Flat Iron I didn't even have to think twice before answering: yes, yes! a million times YES!! This may seem like an over-the-top reaction, however if you knew grade-11-Sorren personally, the girl who often turned to an iron and ironing board, you would probably understand my excitement a little better. I have come a long way since those days, owning four separate flat irons [Hai 2 Ceramic Flat Iron, ISINIS tourmaline, Babyliss Pro nano titanium and most recently, a GHD], and I fancy myself a bit of an expert ...although I suppose I do still need to get my hands on one of those CHI Straightners before I can consider myself an ace.

When the package arrived I was immediately impressed by the detail and thought they put into the packaging.. the couple extra goodies weren't too shabby either!

Since I'm serious about flat irons, I needed to know this flat iron was serious about me (I know it's a little early in our relationship to be testing the waters however, at this age I don't want to waste my time if we're not a fit). Not going to lie, I did not go easy on this straightner. I curled my hair in the morning, wore it down all day long, put it a-top my head through the evening and finally let it down when I needed to start getting ready for my night out. 

PROS: I was a little wary about the 1.5" plate because I had grown quite accustomed to the 1" and loved how easy it was to handle. I had also grown to favour the ceramic finish and so the titanium plating made me a little nervous too. Once I began straightening however, my nerves were calmed. It turned out that I love the 1.5" plate! The extra room makes it easier to straighten larger chunks allowing me to finish my hair quicker. I also noticed that when using the HANA Titanium to straighten my hair I avoided the static that seems to accompany my GHD flat iron during the winter. Now I don't know whether this has anything to do with the fact that my HANA has titanium plates rather than ceramic however, I know that I no longer need to fear the unknown!

CONS: I did noticed that, when fully heated, the outside of the flat iron became considerably hot at certain areas. However, this wasn't much of an issue once I had this realization although I may have already scorched myself a couple of times by that time. The funny thing?? I didn't even consider turning it down or using any of the other temperatures available, I'm 400 or bust kind-of-gal, so I worked around it.

After all was said and done, I must say, the HANA Titanium Flat Iron is a great tool. I have owned some quality flat irons and it's definitely able to keep up. It worked quickly (under 15 minutes for my entire head), kept my hair smooth and didn't create any frizz or burn the tips. Obviously, every girl knows the true test of a quality flat iron is longevity and unfortunately I can't speak to that at this point. However, I will definitely keep you guys up to date as I find out!

*Disclosure:  I received this flat iron c/o Misikko. I was asked to test out the product and write a review of my experience, this review stays true to my own personal opinion. A big thank you to Misikko for allowing a flat-iron-aholic like me test out their awesome product!

Transition-wear

American Apparel sweater | Club Monaco skirt | Hue tights | Nine West peep toes | Matt & Nat bag

I wore this outfit to my friend's birthday dinner a couple weekends back and I must say, the only downside is I'm still not sure if I should have chosen these peep toes over my black booties. That, and the fact that winter is quickly dwindling and I may not have much more time to wear this outfit on repeat! Honestly, i think I may have found the perfect outfit. A pretty skirt, fancy heels, fun tights, AND to top it off, a slouchy, comfy sweater!??! Heaven, I tell you. Especially since lately I've been completely stumped on how to style my top half. With this outfit, I don't even have to deal with that shirt nonsense. I just got to by-pass the entire ordeal and go with a more comfortable option - complete win-win. The other amazing thing about a slouchy sweater (besides the warmth) is that it hides your food baby, and after saganaki, moussaka, salad and cupcakes, you can bet I was into my third trimester... I may have even begun thinking up baby names. What`s everybody think of Jeremy? Jeremy the food baby, I think it's got a nice ring to it.

A mostly similar, slightly new, Beginning

A BIG thank YOU to all those who commented, emailed and completed my survey! It meant so much to me to get your feedback and I appreciate everyone who took the time to do so. You were all so kind in your comments. I must admit that I may have even gotten a little teary (in a good way) when reading a couple of them. I promise I won't be making any major changes around here, however I may introduce a little more variation in my topics and alternate between certain topics on a week to week basis. You'll notice some alterations in my editorial calendar over the next couple weeks, feel free to continue to provide more feedback as we go!

I only have ONE follow-up question (it may have began as a follow-up survey, but I reigned my addiction in and stopped myself): Many of you answered you would be interested in "How-to" posts, I have a couple how-tos in mind, however I would like to see if there's anything specifically you would like to see.

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Food Friday: Grilled Veg Bagnat

This isn't the GIANT sandwich I've made, it definitely won't be the last and I won't share EVER large sandwich I make with you, but this one deserved some attention. When I posted my experimentation with Pan Bagnat my friend, Terra, commented how she had made something similar with roasted veggies, goat cheese, fresh basil and pesto. Yeah. That DOES sound delicious. I pretty much tripped over myself trying to make it ASAP!!!

The concept is pretty simple. Choose some of your favourite veggies, drizzle olive oil over top of them (1 - 2T), sprinkle with your seasoning (I chose salt & pepper), toss, lay flat on a baking sheet and then roast for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.

Next, slice your large baguette in half and dig out the majority of the bread and discard... or eat it bit by bit while you assemble the sandwich. Spread the pesto on one side and the goat cheese on the other, laying the basil leaves over top the goat cheese. Layer your veggies on the side that is the deepest and then put both sides together.

Technically, you could just go ahead and eat the sandwich right away ...but you shouldn't. Instead you should be super patient, wrap the sandwich in saran wrap and put it in the fridge with a weight on top (like a block of butter) and let it sit for 5 hours so the flavours blend.

Serve with a side salad or soup, or just continue eating through the entirety of the sandwich, forgoing any sides; either one.

Distractions

 

Holy cannoli! I cannot believe this is my FIRST outfit post of the week! Seriously, Valentine's Day causes all kinds of ruckus! From skewing my traditional posting schedule to causing wrestling matches in the grocery store over the last half-off gummy heart, jujube and jelly bean mix. What can I say? I'm passionate about half-priced holiday themed candy ...mind you I was wrestling Jack for them. But what do you expect me to do when someone tells me I can't hold my candy and they don't want to deal with my sugar hangover for the rest of the week!? Clearly, the answer is I must eat ALL OF THE CANDY and prove him wrong, and don't you worry, I plan to do just that.

ps. I loved wearing this outfit. It was super warm and I liked the greys against the black and the pop of purple

V-Day Round-up!

I'll be back to posting style photos in no time - I promise! However, since I don't want to lose the opportunity or let the moment pass me by, today you'll just need to be happy with some of my valentine's day snap shots.

- Love twix - the peanut butter chocolate kind 
- Homemade valentines
- Thai takeout - green curry, pad thai and spring rolls. mmhmmm
- The Artist - our movie of choice for the evening
- Lovely flowers
- Make your own sock monkeys from the monkeyshow... which we totally made

heart

 

Oh the day of love, happiness and half priced candy. Hope you all have a great one. I'm not entirely sure what this evening has in store although I do know it will be fantastic whatever it is! Be prepared for a couple photos of the evening (not those kind, guys! Sheesh. Y'all know I don't work blue), I figured out a pretty awesome v-day gift and I can't wait to share!

Featured: Fashion East

Hello all! I have been getting some great feedback from you guys - thank you and keep it coming! Remember, you can comment, email or complete my survey.

Yes, I did make a survey. Yes, I did love making it. Yes, I am definitely addicted to making surveys now. Yes, I do think you should make some too... and yes, I have crossed over and begun pushing survey-making. I lurk by playgrounds and fast-talk the next generation so they get hooked on survey-making. It's a bit of a learning curve but I've got some good pointers after watching the Wire three times through. I am going to have to keep an eye out for snoop though - you can't trust that girl.

In the meantime... I was featured on Fashion East this past week! Fashion East is a local street style blog run by a couple of great girls including the lovely Meghan Tansey Whitton, who snapped my photo - in public.. might I add. She's real good. Check out my feature and follow the blog - you won't be disappointed!

pause.

With spring around the corner I’ve been bitten with the bug of change. Fresh start, new-lease-on-life kind of thing and obviously, this bitty blog isn’t going to be left behind. So, the other night I got to thinking, how could I freshen up my blog? 

Clearly a redesign is the forerunner to accomplishing this, but since this design is still fairly recent I didn’t want to toss it out with complete disregard for other possibilities. For inspiration I began considering how I’ve changed, and how my blogging habits have changed, over the past year.

• My life has gotten A LOT busier – I’ve switched jobs, have many more hobbies and have made an effort to be more social (ahhh yes, poor hermit sorren is waiting in the wings for her time to dominate once again) i.e. I have less time to blog.
• I have less time to take outfit photos – This is for two reasons; 1. It’s winter here so daylight is at a minimum and my apartment lighting isn’t the best. 2. My new position has me across the city from Jack rather than 5 minutes, and although I could become a self-photographing whiz like these lovely ladies (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) I have a strict “no photos near work” commitment that nixes this option.
• Style burnout – I feel as though the quality of the outfit I post has suffered. As much as I love personal style blogging – and I do, it’s just fun – it’s exhausting to do it every day. You start to criticize yourself for not be creative enough. You get it in your head that you always need new pieces to put together anything worth seeing. 
• There’s more I’d like to blog about – I love food. I love music. I love local. I love design. I love pinterest. I’m planning a wedding. I have hobbies. I like sharing reviews. There’s tons out there to talk about, and since I apparently can’t focus – I want to talk about it all!

These changes highlighted a couple of things; mainly that I need a focused, achievable editorial calendar (which I’m working on now). I also realized that I wanted to hear your feedback, find out what you would like to see. Things you like about my blog and things that you aren’t the fondest of. I’ve always been interested to know these things and now I find myself willing to ask. Whatever you can think of - I'd like to know!

You can leave a comment below, email me, complete my survey or do a combo of those things. I made the survey to highlight the specific things I wanted to know and so you could answer anonymously. 

Although I will admit that I intend to remain true to myself, there is always room for improvement and I would love to hear it all - so lay it on me.


*Obviously comments made in an attempt to be malicious will be ignored but everything else is welcome and will be considered!

Food Friday: Pita Pizza

Holy cow, guys. I just took a peek through my last few "what i ate" posts and was shocked at what I found; I have been on an intense sugar kick.  S'mores bars, carrot cake, dessert tarts, peanut butter cookies!? I think the only thing I have left to master is molasses. Just call me Betty Crocker and we'll call it a night. I'm serious, I think I've proven I deserve it. 

In any case, I've seen the direction my life is going without an influx of veggies and I'm making strides to change my ways. Pita pizzas are an old friend of mine. Not going to lie, they've helped me out of a few jams in my day. Random veggies leftover from a week's worth of dinners? Not enough veggies to make anything substantial? Toss in a pita and some pesto and they'll have a new lease on life! 

One of the best things about pita pizza is you can dress it pretty much any way you'd like AND it always stays fun and exciting because it's so easy to switch up the toppings! This week my fridge had a bunch of my favourite veggies (coincidence) left over from the week's meals. I wasn't picky; I chopped them all up. 

Since I was feeling fancy and have a penchant for basil, I went with pesto as my base. I have also been known to use olive oil with garlic or tomato paste, both are delicious. Other awesome topper options are sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, asparagus, pepperoni, cheddar, smoked gouda, eggplant, and the list goes on... although I wouldn't begin to assume they all mesh perfectly together.

Once you've brushed your base and topped your toppers, place your pita pizza on the cookie sheet and toss it in your pre-heated (400 degree) oven. Bake for 10 minutes and, voila! Dinner! This whole meal can take as little as 25 minutes to make. And even better? One pita pizza with a side of salad is enough dinner for one girl! Quick, easy AND a perfect portion size!? Amazing.

Notes:

hmmm, notes... notes...

anything you want to sautee or soften before hand?

Do it. it's worth the time and makes it all kinds of extra delicious.

For the above pizza I sauteed the onions, mushrooms, zucchini and red peppers.

that's all I've got. I love these effin' things.

if you've got any questions, ask away!

Pretty in Pink

Guys, I must tell you, I am completely in love with this skirt. This is certainly not the first time I've found myself with amorous feelings towards a piece of fabric however this may be the first time I've ever contemplated dating one. I stumbled upon this skirt during Boxing Day sales at Biscuit. It was amazing - I totally wasn't expecting to fall head over heels like this but I did and we're so happy. So far, my favourite pairing for the skirt is this shirt. I know that it's so much more versatile than just this, but I haven't discovered exactly how far I should push it yet... any ideas? How would you style it?

A Touch of Spring

Pink Martini cardigan | FCUK tie blouse (similar) | Seven for All Mankind jeans | Nine West peep toes

I'm not sure why it took me so long to think of it but I'm sure glad I did because I loved the pairing of this light, lace cardigan with my tie blouse. Up until now I had only gotten so far as to pair it with a white tee, or layer it over a cami; glad to know I'm slightly less boring than I was this time last year. I must admit though, if I were to re-create this look I think I would nix my Nine West peep toes. As much as I love them they just were not doing it for me. I think an awesome nude pump is exactly what this outfit needs to pull it all together -looks like I've got a new mission...